1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to swimming pool vacuums and, more specifically, to a collection bag for removable attachment to a self-contained swimming pool vacuum head; the collection bag being specifically designed to trap the collected debris so that it does not escape back out through the open end when the bag is attached to the vacuum head.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The ordinary care and maintenance of swimming pools requires regular vacuuming of the pool bottom and sidewalls in order to remove dirt, leaves and other debris. Traditionally, swimming pool vacuum systems have employed the use of an elongate flexible hose which attaches at one end to a vacuum head on a pole and to the pool's skimmer intake at an opposite end of the hose. Circulation of the pool water through the pool's filter system by a pump creates suction at the vacuum head. By maneuvering the vacuum head over the pool surfaces, dirt and other small particles are drawn through the hose and into the filter system. Larger items, such as leaves, sticks, and bugs are trapped in a basket in the filter system. After cleaning, the basket and the pool filter must be cleaned to remove the leaves and debris.
Cleaning swimming pools using the above described pool vacuum system is laborious and time consuming, particularly due to the need to clean the filter and basket after each time the pool is vacuumed. Due to the inefficiency of this type of a system, most commercial pool cleaning services prefer to use self contained submersible vacuum heads that have an electric motor that drives a propeller for creating thrust through the vacuum head, thereby drawing dirt, leaves and other debris up through a bottom mouth of the vacuum head, through a thrust channel and into an attached collection bag. Once the pool has been vacuumed, the vacuum head is lifted and removed from the pool and the collection bag is removed and cleaned. An example of a self-contained swimming pool vacuum head is disclosed in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,768,734.
While use of self-contained submersible vacuum heads has proven to be cost effective and highly efficient for commercial pool cleaning services, cleaning the collected dirt and other debris within the attached bag has been problematic. More specifically, the design of collection bags and the manner of attachment of collection bags to self-contained submersible swimming pool vacuum heads relies on the thrust of the motor driven propeller to maintain the debris in the bag. Often, some of the collected debris, and particularly smaller particles, falls out of the bottom open end of the bag and through the vacuum head and back into the pool. This typically happens when the upper portion of the collection chamber of the bag becomes filled with debris which blocks the flow of water upwardly through the collection bag. This can cause a drop in thrust pressure which allows some of the debris to escape out the bottom of the bag.
Accordingly, there remains a definite need for an improved collection bag for removable attachment to existing self-contained submersible swimming pool vacuum heads. More particularly, there remains a need for an improved collection bag that provides for greater thrust pressure through the bag with improved circulation at a top portion of the collection chamber to prevent gathering of collected debris in this area which has the effect of reducing thrust pressure. Moreover, there is a need for improved collection bag that provides for a cone shaped entry port into the bag which has the effect of increasing thrust pressure with greater circulation at an upper portion of the bag and lower pressure surrounding the cone shaped entry portion at a lower portion of the collection chamber to thereby allow debris to settle in the lower portion of the collection chamber without escaping the bag opening.